Many years ago, enterprise software made us all a promise: that it would make our lives easier. And for awhile, it may have delivered on that promise. But now, company, user, and customer needs have evolved.
Consumer software has rewritten the rules for digital experiences. Stepping back, it’s hard to see how monolithic enterprise applications still work for anyone today. Traditional app categories like CRM and ERP no longer meet the needs of today’s enterprise users. Customizations are long, painful, and expensive for designers, developers, and business users alike.
Data is siloed and hard to access. As the line between consumer and business apps blurs, old categories like front-, middle-, and back-office no longer apply. Instead, data and functions must come together around user needs, delighting customers, partners, and employees. But how?
Unite all your enterprise silos.
To transform enterprise apps, companies must bring together heterogeneous applications, databases, and services. We now live in a multi-cloud, hybrid world, further compounding this challenge. Additionally, 80% of the world’s data is not on the internet or in the cloud.
It’s stored on private servers in enterprises around the globe. Security-conscious companies have strict data policies, for good reason. Enterprises need the ability to securely connect to any data, no matter where it rests, even if it’s behind your firewall.
Deliver products on time.
Part of the problem with traditional app categories is that the means used to build them are also aging rapidly. Using traditional development methods, many applications are already outdated by the time they’re deployed, leading to low adoption rates and creating a cycle of stalled innovation.
With demand for consumer-grade digital solutions outpacing the supply of developers available to create them, businesses today need faster, more cost-effective ways to design, develop, and deploy exceptional applications.
Engage users at the right time and place.
For any app to succeed, it must engage and delight users at the digital moment of their choice. Forrester, an independent industry research and analyst firm, goes further:
“Companies are faced with building multiple digital experiences and bringing them together into a consistent digital portfolio. These experiences must all come together to meet a user's need when and where they need it and make use of all available context to deliver a contextual experience across the user's ecosystem of devices.”
Reimagine enterprise applications.
So, let’s make a list. We know that the current state of enterprise software isn’t working. What specifically do we need to do to fix it? We need to be able to:
- Connect to our data wherever it lives, in the cloud, on-prem, or in private networks.
- Build and deploy enterprise apps quickly, when they’re most relevant to the users.
- Design enterprise experiences for any device that rival those of consumer-facing applications.
Enterprise apps require a fresh approach. It’s time to stop just imagining and start turning imagination into reality. If any of this resonates with you, I highly recommend that you check out Skuid Spark, Skuid’s September product release.
Leading global companies already use Skuid for a variety of ever-expanding use cases. Learn what you can do with these all-new features, available exclusively in Skuid Spark:
- Unite your enterprise silos with even more data source integrations and our new Private Data Service.
- Accelerate your application development with new best-practice App Templates.
- Design amazing experiences at scale with the new Design System Studio and Skuid Ink Components.
- Engage users from any device with a host of new native mobile capabilities.
Most importantly, you can iterate on all your application creations and innovate continuously. And do it all at competitive speed. What are you waiting for? Learn more about Skuid Spark today.
